WASHINGTON, D.C, – Today, Senator Jim Banks (R-Ind.) introduced the Promoting Equal Learning & Liberty (PELL) Act. This bill would eliminate the Minority-Serving Institution (MSI) grant program, which funds colleges that meet racial and ethnic quotas, and redirect those funds to the Pell Grant program.
Senator Jim Banks (R-Ind.) stated, “The Pell Act ensures federal dollars go to students, not racial quotas, because every American student deserves an equal shot at a quality education and the chance to achieve their American Dream.”
Statement from Defending Education: “We commend Senator Banks for his commitment to upholding equal protection under the law and ensuring that federal resources expand opportunity for every student without regard to race.”
Edward Blum, Founder and President of Students for Fair Admissions, said, “The PELL Act ends unfair and unconstitutional race-based preferences in federal higher education funding and restores the simple principle that government programs should serve students based on need, not skin color.”
Key Provisions of the Pell Act are:
- Eliminating the Minority-Serving Institution grant program and grants that rely on MSI designations.
- Redirecting money from the MSI grant program to the Pell Grant program.
- Prohibiting the federal government from considering the racial or ethnic balance of institutions of higher education in making grant awards, or from awarding grants to institutions that consider race or ethnicity in admissions.
Defending Education and the National Association of Scholars have endorsed this legislation.
Full text of the bill can be found here.
The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments guarantee every person—regardless of race or color—equal protection under the law. The Supreme Court reaffirmed in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard College that racial quotas and preferences violate Equal Protection, and that colleges and universities cannot employ race-based admissions practices. Despite this clear prohibition, Congress continues to fund several grant programs that condition eligibility for institutions of higher education on the racial or ethnic composition of their student bodies.
Minority-Serving Institution (MSI) grant programs distribute more than $350 million each year. These MSI programs reward institutions for meeting or maintaining racial and ethnic quotas—unlike Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), which receive support independent of student-body demographics. Additionally, MSI programs divert resources from class-based initiatives, such as the Pell Grant program, that are designed to expand educational opportunity for all Americans regardless of race.
